Denouement
by majinga
Summary: Will you still say it even if it's too late?


**Disclaimer:** JK Rowling owns everything, of course except for the little twists (of course the 'little' part is mine)

**Author: **majinga

**Story Title: **Denouement

**Fandom/s: **Harry Potter

**Pairing: **Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger

Ten years has passed and Hogwarts still looks the same. The huge castle which Hermione Granger used to call home for seven years hasn't changed a bit. Inspite of the war, it didn't feel nor look as if its walls have witnessed many atrocities. She walked the halls of the place she loved most, a place full of memories. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger on those moving portraits which used to intimidate her when she first came to school. She was in a reverie that she barely noticed her husband beside her.

A man with blazing red-hair of 28 wrapped his arms around the waist of his wife. He smiled lightly, looking at his wife daydreaming about their good old days as students. _She has aged, but she hasn't changed a bit_, he thought to himself as they neared the Great Hall. She still had that same unruly hair which she wore in a long elegant braid for the occasion, those huge brown knowledgeable eyes that sparkled when excited and those rose colored cheeks in contrast with her pale complexion. Her eyes lit up as they approached the heavy oak doors. Ronald Weasley pushed the door open with his free hand.

The couple was greeted by their friends and schoolmates from Gryffindor and other houses. Ron, who was now a well-known auror was whisked away by his fellows and long time friends Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. While witches like Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Hannah Abbot took turns in entertaining Hermione with questions and stories about their married life and work. Being a curse-breaker and a researcher at the Ministry of Magic made Hermione busy that it wasn't often she had the chance to catch up with them. As they stood there, laughing and chatting animatedly, a pair of cold grey eyes followed her. She could feel it and she knew who it was.

Draco Malfoy stood across the room, near the buffet table. He allowed his Slytherin friends to amuse him with the usual men's small talk, giving an occasional nod and smirk, though his attention wasn't with them. It was a good thing his wife Astoria didn't accompany him tonight. She was left at the manor attending to little Scorpius. She would sure have a fit if she saw how he was acting tonight. Not that he was flirting around, but he was watching someone in a way any married pureblood man shouldn't. His attentions were on a particular mudblood he once hated.

The lights went out and the crowd began to quiet down. The spotlight was on an old witch carefully climbing the stage. With Severus Snape gone, Minerva Mc Gonagall, Hogwart's headmistress gave the opening speech. As she faced the crowd, and with the spot light directed on her, it could be noticed that ten years had done a lot to her appearance. She appeared frailer, her wrinkles more visible and her once dark hair was already silver-grey. Though she seemed haggard and weary, she still had that stern look on her face. It was pretty much the same strict Transfiguration professor they had way back.

He didn't care at all. While the whole place was dark, he walked over to his tonight's object of interest, only to stop dead in his tracks a few feet away. The lady was rejoined by her loving husband, who placed an arm around her shoulders. He couldn't help retching at the scene playing in front of him. Ron leaned down to whisper something in her ear, his lips brushing over Hermione's ear. She turned to look up at her husband and smiled. To hide what he felt, he decided to stand against the wall in one of the dark spots. He tried to remain unnoticeable. As he held up his glass to sip champagne, he heard a greeting directed at him.

"Malfoy" a man's voice said. The fair haired wizard turned to the direction where the voice came from. He was startled when he met a pair of dark green eyes behind a pair of gold-rimmed eye-glasses, glinting in the darkness. It was his favorite childhood enemy.

"Potter, haven't seen you in a long time…" he said in a cool composed voice.

"Yes, I've been busy." Harry answered turning his attention back to the headmistress.

"Auror duties, I suppose?"

The dark-haired man nodded, "tasks outside the country. How about you?" he asked turning to him with interest.

"As usual, Malfoy businesses," the other man drawled lazily.

"Trying to fill up a new vault at Gringot's?" Draco chuckled at this question. Ever since after the war, the two men have been civil and treated each other with a certain degree of respect, though not exactly friends. During the war Harry had saved his life twice and then Narcissa Malfoy returned the favor without knowing it by declaring to her lord Voldemort and fellow death-eaters that the Boy-Who-Lived was gone.

Both men turned their attention back to the stage, where another professor was making a speech. Draco tried to concentrate on the speaker, but no matter what he did, his eyes kept wandering back to her. Harry had observed this and followed his gaze. "You like her, don't you?" Malfoy need not answer his question, it was obvious. This wasn't the first time he caught him staring at her and he already took his silence as a yes. Harry decided not to say anything more.

_There was neither contempt nor mockery in his voice_, Draco observed. He decided to let that question pass. He would not dare let strangers in on his deepest thoughts, let alone his emotions about a certain married woman who happens to be one of Harry Potter's best friends. He was somewhat relieved when the dark-haired man left him to join his friends near the foot of the stage.

Applause erupted in the hall, signifying the end of the event's opening ceremony. Witches and Wizards went back to their little groups, chatting gaily and occupying the round tables and chairs that appeared out of the thin air. With nothing much better to do, he went over and joined his old time buddies, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Gregory Goyle and Marcus Flint. He was already resigned to the thought of making things 'clear' because she was already happy with someone else. _There was no use of telling her_, he thought to himself.

In a few minutes, the dancing started. Couples made their way to the dance floor. Still, none of the Slytherin men in their table stood up since none of them offered anybody to dance. Draco's wife wasn't around and neither was Flint's and Goyle's, so it didn't really matter to them. As for Zabini and Nott, who were still bachelors, no one really interested them that much and would make them bother stand from their place. Don't get the wrong idea, all of them were decent and rather good-looking, it's just that none of the witch-folk have also dared to approach them yet. They began talking amusedly about the unusual couples (or unconventional love-teams as Blaise had put it), spotting their fellow Slytherin Pansy Parkinson in a slow-dance with Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood with Dean Thomas and many more. Draco was thankful no one said anything about the mudblood and Weasley. It was enough seeing those two acting lovey-dovey in the darker part of the dance floor and people need not rub more salt into his wounds. Not that they're even aware of it.

Time has passed and there was nothing was left to talk about, with every possible topic of conversation used up. There were those who left while others still danced or hung around. By that time, Blaise Zabini offered Padma Patil a dance. The Slytherin men begrudgingly agreed with each other that, though a bit odd, they did make a wonderful pair. The others got up to leave, leaving Draco all alone on their table. He was still watching people dance or walk out the great-oak doors.

Finally getting tired of it, he stood up and walked over to them. He had changed his mind. _It is better said late than never_, he said to himself. After a few glasses of alcoholic beverages, one would think that Draco Malfoy was already intoxicated. But no, it took much more volume than what he had consumed to get him pissed drunk. He was perfectly sober when he walked up to the Golden Trio's table.

Instead of speaking to her directly, he decided to ask the husband's permission. In his opinion, that was much safer. "May, I borrow your lovely wife for a dance?" He asked looking at Ron. He expected the man to make a scene and tell him to bugger-off, like when they were still younger. To his surprise, Ron agreed and gave his wife's hand a comforting squeeze before looking back at him. Harry remained silent, but gave the fair haired man a knowing look.

He led her to the dance floor and suddenly all eyes were on them. The pair looked so right for each other that people started wondering and murmuring why they were never an item back in those days.

Both of them didn't care. There was nothing wrong with what their doing because they had Ron's consent. Then, there's the fact that people like Draco Malfoy never felt guilty about anything they did.

Draco took a deep breath before he positioned his hand on her waist. His throat went dry for a reason even he himself couldn't pinpoint. Hermione, though a bit hesitant at first, placed her hand on his shoulder, then the other one held the large smooth hand he presented. Memories of their dance together during their sixth year came back to her as he held his warm hands. She remembered being appalled by them because the warmth was a contrast to his cold nature.

The couple began to sway back and forth to the rhythm of the music. At first, they felt awkward with each other. But as seconds passed by, they loosened up a bit. Hermione felt warm and comfortable that she didn't mind it anymore. The pair was silent the whole time lost in their own little world and the music. She looked up at him to see his reaction, his grey eyes boring into hers. Draco was smirking slightly, enjoying moment. The pair continued to dance without uttering a single word and their eyes still locked on each other. When he realized that the music was coming to an end, he breathed in her scent for one last time. As the final notes played, he leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I wish it was you. I wish you were in my life."

Hermione stared at him. She was beyond surprised that she couldn't think of anything to say. Seconds passed before she said the only thing that came into her mind, "Thank you for the dance." He led her back to where her husband and best friend were waiting for her. After that, Draco said his good-byes and left.

Draco Malfoy walked out of the hall with a smirk on his face. Was it in triumph that he finally got it out of system or was it to hide his sorrow because despite the fact that she already knew what he felt, it was still too late for them? Though he didn't hear her say anything, he knew her answer. It was in that sad gleam in her eyes and the way her grip on his shoulders tightened. He walked away from the party knowing that she felt the same way too.

**A/N: **It was my intention for this story to have a sad ending. But, I still plan to write a sequel to this (though I'm not yet sure if it will have a happy or sad ending). Hehehe… To anybody who has a heart, Please review………


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